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J.J. Spaun turned heads by making a wild mix of rare shots at the US Open. The PGA Tour star carded a 4-under 66, became the lone player in the field without a bogey, and bested his previous low major score of 67 from 2018 PGA Championship final round. He sat with a one-shot lead at the end of Day 1. Jon Rahm found it inspiring.
Rahm carded a 69 in the opening round, sharing T6 with Thomas Detry and a few others. However, the Spaniard seemed pleased with the score. Interestingly, speaking in his post-round presser, the 2023 Masters champ revealed that Spaun’s 4-under round eased him. The LIV star said he watched his PGA rival’s round broadcast and thought it was “doable.”
He admitted it being “hard” but reiterated believing it was “doable” after watching the latter.
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Replying to a media query on whether he watched the broadcast from the morning tees, Jon Rahm said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“Yeah, I watched it. I think it helps. It's not exactly the same conditions, and in the afternoon, it dried up a little bit. Some of those holes were playing a little shorter. Some of those bounces were maybe slightly firmer. But it always helps to see. When you see someone like J.J. (Spaun) go out and shoot 4-under, you say, well, it's doable. It's hard, but it's doable.”
It is pertinent to note that Jon Rahm started off the major championship outing well with quick birdie and eagle to go 3-under. However, the two-time major champ made some errors, including a missed six-footer putt. He settled for T6 in the end.
Jon Rahm pleased with 69 at US Open
J.J. Spaun’s steady hand was the highlight of the US Open opening round at Oakmont. Meanwhile, event-favorite Scottie Scheffler shot a 73, making more bogeys on Thursday than what he made during his Memorial Tournament win, to finish T49 at the end of the day. Rahm slid right in the middle between these names to settle for T6 with a 69.
The Spaniard dubbed his performance ‘good’ and claimed being “extremely happy.” He went on to laud himself for navigating Oakmont’s harsh conditions and said he played “some incredible golf to shoot one under.”
Speaking about his round, Jon Rahm said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“Just a really good round, really good golf in general. Everything felt good. I’m extremely happy. I played some incredible golf to shoot one under, which we don't usually say… It's nice when you get those scoreboards and it tells you how difficult holes are playing. You know that if you're making par, you're gaining pretty much half a stroke on every hole… It's one of the craziest things that you can see.”
The Spaniard reiterated that pars are “always good” at Oakmont and stated that the players are “not losing too much” with bogeys.
It is pertinent to note that the eased comments from Jon Rahm comes just days after he unintentionally dubbed LIV Golf ‘easy.’ The two-time major champion, who has never finished outside the top-10 in 20 events since joining the Saudi-backed league in December 2023, said the ‘smaller fields’ on the circuit helped.
